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O.  E.  S.  liDRARY.  Cop.  & 

CONNECTICUT 

ilGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STMIOI 

NE\V     HAVEN,    CONN. 


BULLETIN    144,   OCTOBER,   1903. 


ENTOMOLOGICAL    SERIES,    No.    10. 

Fighting  the  San  Jose  Scale-Insect  in  1903. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Officers  and  Staff  of  Station    2 

Fighting  the  San  Jos6  Scale-Insect 3 

Spraying  Dormant  Trees 3 

Experiments  at  Yalesville 4 

Westville  Experiments 9 

Spraying  at  Southington 14 

New  Haven  Experiments iS 

Other  Experiences ' 20 

Summer  Sprajang  with  Kerosene  Emulsion 22 

Making  the  Lime,  Sulphur  and  Salt  Mixture 22 

Weather  Notes 25 

Summary      26 


The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free  to  citizens  of  Con- 
necticut who  apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  far  as  the  limited 
editions  permit. 


CONNECTICUT  AfiRICOLTDRAL  EIPERIfflEHT  STATION, 


BOARD    OF   CONTROL. 

Ex  officio. 
His  Excellency  Abiram  Chamberlain,  Presic 

Prof.  W.  O.  Atwater  Middletown. 

Prof.  W.  H.  Brewer,  Secretary  New  Haven. 

B.  W.  Collins  Meriden. 

T.  S.  Gold  West  Cornwall. 

Edwin  Hoyt  New  Canaan. 

J.  H.  Webb  Hamden. 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  Director  and  Treasurer  New  Haven. 


StATION    STAFF. 

Chemists. 

Analytical  Laboratory. 

A.  L.  WiNTON,  Ph.B.,  Chemist  in  charge. 

A.  W.  Ogden,  Ph.B.  M.  Silverman,  Ph.B. 

E.  Monroe  Bailey,  Ph.B. 

Laboratory  for  the  Study  of  Proteids. 

T.  B.  Osborne,  Ph.D.,  Chemist  in  charge. 

I.  F.  Harris,  M.S. 

Botanist. 
G.  P.  Clinton,  S.D. 

Entomologist. 
W.  E.  Britton,  Ph.D. 

Assistant  to  the  Entomologist. 
B.  H.  Walden,  B.Agr. 

In  charge  of  Forestry  Work. 
Walter  Mulford,  F.E. 

Grass  Gardener. 
James  B.  Olcott,  South  Manchester. 

Stenographers  and  Clerks. 

Miss  V.  E.  Cole. 
Miss  L.  M.  Brautlecht. 

In  charge  of  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
William  Veitch. 

Laboratory  Helpers. 
Hugo  Lange.  William  Pokrob. 

Sampling  Agent. 
V.  L.  Churchill.  New  Haven. 


SPRAYING   DORMANT   TREES. 


FIGHTING  THE   SAN  JOSE   SCALE-INSECT  IN   1903. 
By  W.  E.  Britton  and  B.  H.  Walden. 

During  the  season  of  1903,  spraying  experiments  directed 
against  this  most  destructive  insect  were  conducted  at  Yales- 
ville,  Southington,  Westville  and  New  Haven. 

One  of  the  most  extensive  spraying  operations  ever  conducted 
in  the  State  was  carried  out  at  the  orchard  of  Barnes  Brothers 
at  Yalesville.  A  short  account  of  the  work  done  in  this  orchard 
in  1902  was  given  in  the  Second  Report  of  the  State  Entomol- 
ogist, page  120.  During  March  and  April  of  the  present  year, 
about  11,000  trees  were  sprayed  by  the  owners,  and  a  brief 
account  has  been  published  in  the  Report  of  the  Connecticut 
Pomological  Society  for  1902,  page  217. 

Barnes  Brothers  cordially  cooperated  with  the  Station  in 
experimenting  with  various  mixtures,  and  especially  in  develop- 
ing practical  methods  of  preparing  and  applying  them,  in  order 
to  make  the  work  of  greater  value  to  the  orchardists  of  the 
State. 

At  Southington,  the  writers  sprayed  over  200  peach  and  50 
apple  trees  with  various  substances  during  the  latter  part  of 
March.  Some  of  the  mixtures  were  not  effective  in  killing  the 
scales  and  100  of  the  peach  trees  were  again  sprayed  August 
loth,  to  prevent  the  further  increase  of  the  insects. 

Various  spraying  mixtures,  were  tested  on  about  150  pear 
trees  in  Westville  on  April  ist. 

Late  in  the  winter  some  fruit  trees  upon  the  Station  grounds 
were  found  to  be  moderately  infested,  and  several  preparations 
were  here  applied  to  35  trees  of  various  kinds  during  March 
and  April. 

The  results  of  the  experiments  have  been  tabulated  and  these, 
together  with  a  somewhat  detailed  account  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  were  made,  as  well  as  a  few  practical  direc- 
tions for  doing  the  work,  appear  in  the  following  pages. 

Spraying  Dormant  Trees. 
Most   of  the   experimental   work   consisted   in   spraying  the 
dormant  trees  in  late  winter  or  early  spring  with  various  insec- 
ticides.    The  results  of  the  spraying  are  measured  by  the  pro- 


4  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

portion  of  scalc-insccts  which  are  killed  by  it.  But  since  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  scales  usually  die  each  winter, 
and  sometimes  even  fifty  per  cent.,  it  is  necessary  first  to  deter- 
mine the  percentage  which  are  alive  when  the  spraying  is  done. 

In  each  case,  therefore,  before  spraying,  sample  twigs  were 
cut  from  marked  trees  and  the  percentage  of  living  scales 
determined.  Twigs  from  the  same  trees  were  taken  some  six 
or  eight  weeks  after  treatment  to  determine  the  effect  of  the 
insecticides. 

This  second  count  was  made  during  June  in  all  cases.  At 
this  time  the  hibernating  males  had  reached  maturity  and  had 
emerged,  nothing  but  the  shells  remaining.  These  can  readily 
be  distinguished  from  the  females  by  their  different  shape,  and 
were  not  counted  in  determining  the  percentages.  Though  this 
method  of  indicating  results  has  its  faults  and  should  not  be 
the  only  kind  of  record  kept,  it  furnishes,  nevertheless,  a  means 
of  expressing  the  results  in  a  mathematical  statement,  and  when 
combined  with  the  method  of  frequently  examining  the  trees,  is 
believed  to  afford  a  more  accurate  account  than  can  come  from 
a  personal  estimate  not  based  upon  an  actual  enumeration. 

In  all  of  the  work  herein  described,  the  trees  were  sprayed  as 
well  as  could  be,  but  on  account  of  winds  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible some  days  to  thoroughly  coat  the  trees.  After  the  first 
application  dried,  the  trees  were  again  visited  and  all  branches 
not  coated  the  first  time  were  "touched  up." 

Experiments  at  Yalesville. 

The  work  here  was  done  on  a  very  extensive  scale  by  the 
owners.  Throughout  the  orchards,  infested  trees  could  be 
found  here  and  there,  but  very  few  were  badly  infested  and  no 
portion  of  the  orchard  was  thoroughly  or  uniformly  infested. 
On  most  trees  the  insect  could  not  be  found.  The  owners, 
wishing  to  check  the  pest  before  the  trees  were  seriously  injured 
by  it,  sprayed  nearly  their  entire  orchards. 

Under  these  conditions,  it  was  impracticable  to  test  many 
different  insecticides  as  the  infested  trees  were  widely  scattered, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  find  many  infested  trees  from  which  to 
cut  twigs,  especially  after  the  trees  had  been  pruned.     It  was 


YALESVILLE    EXPERIMENTS.  5 

an  excellent  opportunity,  however,  to  test  practically  the  methods 
of  making  and  applying  insecticides  on  a  large  scale. 

A  description  of  Barnes  Brothers'  steam  cooking  plant  for 
making  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture  (California  wash) 
was  published  in  the  Second  Report  of  the  State  Entomologist, 
1902,  page  120,  and  the  boiler  was  figured  on  Plate  III  of  the 
same. 

This  outfit  was  used  in  the  season  of  1903,  but  the  boiler 
was  supplemented  by  the  boiler  of  a  Kinney  "Safe"  engine  in 
order  to  increase  its  capacity.  Three  hand  barrel  pumps  were 
used  for  spraying,  each  pump  being  fitted  with  a  25-foot  half- 
inch  hose,  8-foot  gas-pipe  extension  and  double  Vermorel  nozzle. 
The  barrels  were  mounted  -upon  stone-drags,  fitted  with  heavy 
wooden  blocks  hollowed  out  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent 
the  barrel  from  slipping  out  of  place.  When  spraying  the  trees 
near  the  cooking  plant,  the  barrels  were  filled  directly  from  it, 
but  the  mixture  was  carted  to  distant  portions  of  the  orchard 
in  storage  barrels,  from  which  it  was  drawn  into  the  pump 
barrels.  The  storage  barrels  and  mounted  pump  are  shown  on 
Plate  II,  b. 

About  half  of  the  trees,  which  had  been  planted  six  and  seven 
years,  were  severely  cut  back  before  spraying.  As  the  fruit- 
buds  had  nearly  all  been  winter-killed,  the  time  was  a  very 
good  one  for  heading  back  the  trees  (see  Plate  I,  a).  It  was 
also  possible  to  spray  the  trees  more  thoroughly  and  cheaply 
after  cutting  them  back. 

Nevertheless,  the  treatment  of  this  orchard  was  expensive,  as 
is  shown  by  the  figures  kindly  submitted  by  Mr.  Barnes. 

Labor -' $472.80 

Four  horses,  75  cents  each  per  day,  30  days go. 00 

Materials — 16,500    lbs.    lime,    13,680   lbs.    sulphur, 

7,840  lbs.  salt - 500.00 

Fuel — (besides  wood)  3  tons  coal 20.00 

Sundry  expenses  for  repairs,  etc 25.00 

Charge  to  cover  deterioration  in  plant .-  50.00 

Total $1,157.80 

Number  of  trees  sprayed,  about 11,000 

Average  cost  per  tree,  about 10  cents 

These  figures  include  the  spraying  of  many  large  bearing 
apple  trees  which  were  growing  in  the  peach  orchard. 


CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 


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8  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

The  average  cost  per  tree  could  have  been  lessened  by  using 
two  lines  of  hose  on  each  pump,  as  one  man  can  easily  pump 
for  two  lines  of  hose. 

Most  of  the  orchard  was  sprayed  with  a  mixture  containing 
20  pounds  lime,  14  pounds  sulphur,  10  pounds  salt  and  40  gal- 
lons water.  The  lime  was  slaked  carefully,  the  sulphur  and  salt 
added  and  the  whole  boiled  slowly  for  about  one  and  one-half 
hours. 

A  portion  of  the  orchard  was  sprayed  with  this  mixture  in 
November  and  December,  1902,  but  as  an  examination  in  A^Iarch 
showed  that  there  were  still  many  living  insects,  these  trees 
were  again  sprayed  during  the  spring. 

About  thirty  days,  with  the  entire  force  at  work,  were 
required  to  spray  the  11,000  trees. 

Results  at  Yalesville. 

The  buds  were  well  developed  and  were  opening  before  the 
spraying  could  be  finished.  Some  of  these  were  injured. 
Otherwise  there  was  no  injury  to  the  trees. 

The  percentages  of  insects  living  on  June  17th,  given  in 
Tables  I  and  II,  probably  do  not  represent  accurately  the  number 
that  brought  forth  young  this  season,  for  some  of  these  were 
not  healthy  when  examined  and  doubtless  would  not  be  able 
to  reproduce.  An  examination  of  the  orchard  on  September 
nth,  nearly  three  months  after  the  breeding  season  began, 
showed  that  the  results  had  been  generally  satisfactory,  as  it 
was  extremely  difficult  •  to  find  living  scales  on  the  sprayed 
trees.  None  were  found  on  the  trees  which  were  sprayed  twice 
(December  and  April). 

Very  little  difference  could  be  seen  in  the  effects  of  mixtures 
containing  different  quantities  of  sulphur. 

A  portion  of  the  orchard  was  sprayed  very  late  just  before 
the  leaves  appeared,  and  some  trees  were  in  blossom.  The  open 
buds  were  destroyed,  but  the  mixture  remained  for  a  longer 
time  on  these  trees,  doubtless  on  account  of  being  protected  by 
the  foliage.  Six  months  after  spraying,  the  trunks  and  larger 
branches  were  still  white. 

One  small  orchard  owned  by  Barnes  Brothers  was  not  sprayed 
at  all,  and  Mr.  Barnes  states  that  this  orchard  produced  peaches 


WESTVILLE   EXPERIMENTS.  9 

that  were  badly  infested  with  the  "scab"  fungus.  Fruit  of 
the  same  variety  from  a  near-by  sprayed  orchard  was  almost 
entirely  free  from  "scab,"  indicating  strongly  that  the  lime, 
sulphur  and  salt  mixture,  as  had  been  supposed,  is  of  con- 
siderable value  as  a  fungicide. 

Westville  Experiments. 

The  trees  that  were  here  treated  were  all  pear,  and  set  in 
nearly  a  square  block  having  fifteen  rows  with  ten  to  eleven 
trees  in  each  row.  Nearly  all  of  the  trees  were  badly  infested 
and  some  had  been  killed  by  the  scale  and  were  removed,  so 
that  only  144  trees  were  actually  sprayed  in  this  experiment. 
The  scales  had  completely  encrusted  many  trees  and  greatly 
impaired  their  vitality :  otherwise  the  conditions  were  favorable 
for  experimental  spraying  work. 

The  spraying  was  done  on  April  ist,  a  bright  sunny  day,  with 
a  breeze  from  the  northwest.  The  orchard  was  divided  into 
sections  for  treatment  with  the  different  insecticides.  Begin- 
ning on  the  west  side,  the  first  row  of  nine  trees  was  sprayed 
with  Derrick  crude  oil  and  water  (25  per  cent,  oil)  applied  with 
a  "Success"  kerosene  bucket  sprayer.  The  second,  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  rows  were  sprayed  with  whitewash,  using  20 
pounds  of  lime  to  40  gallons  of  water.  The  sixth  row  was 
sprayed  with  sulphide  of  potash  and  lime  in  water  (5  pounds 
sulphide  of  potash,  5  pounds  of  lime,  10  gallons  of  water). 
The  seventh  and  eighth  rows  were  sprayed  with  strong  Bordeaux 
mixture  composed  of  5  pounds  of  copper  sulphate,  5  pounds  of 
lime  and  20  gallons  of  water. 

The  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh  and  twelfth  rows  were  sprayed 
with  the  lime  and  sulphur  mixture  (no  salt),  containing  20 
pounds  of  lime,  14  pounds  of  sulphur  and  40  gallons  of  water, 
the  lime  and  sulphur  being  boiled  together  in  a  concentrated 
solution  for  one  hour. 

The  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  rows  were  sprayed 
with  the  regular  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture,  made  by  boiling 
together  for  one  hour  20  pounds  of  lime,  14  pounds  of  sulphur, 
10  pounds  of  salt  and  enough  water  added  to  make  40  gallons. 

The  lime,  sulphur  and  salt,  and  the  lime  and  sulphur  mixtures 
were  boiled  for  about  one  hour  in  a  large  iron  kettle  devised 
for  cooking  stock  feed. 


10  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 


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RESULTS   AT    WESTVILLE.  1 3 

With  the  exception  of  the  oil,  all  the  spraying  was  done  with 
an  "Eclipse"  barrel  pump  mounted  on  a  two-wheeled  cart  and 
fitted  with  two  lines  of  hose,  bamboo  extensions  and  double 
Vermorel  nozzles. 

Results  at  Westville. 

The  first  row  of  trees  sprayed  with  25  per  cent,  crude  oil 
mixed  with  water  apparently  suffered  no  injury  from  the  treat- 
ment and  no  living  insects  could  be  found  on  the  twigs  examined. 
In  former  experiments,  however,  trees  have  been  injured  by  oils, 
and  in  other  states,  notably  Ohio,  orchards  have  been  seriously 
damaged  by  their  use.  The  pumps  for  mixing  oil  and  water 
are  not  reliable,  and  for  these  reasons  the  oils  must  be  used 
cautiously  in  Connecticut. 

The  whitewash  alone  was  not  a  success,  because  it  washed 
off  quickly  and  did  not  kill  the  scales.  If  it  could  be  made  to 
remain  upon  the  trees  as  a  coating  until  after  the  breeding  season 
begins,  it  might  be  of  considerable  value  as  a  mechanical  barrier 
to  the  emergence  of  the  young  insects,  A  considerable  number 
(ranging  from  8  to  46,  with  an  average  of  19,  per  cent.)  of 
the  female  scales  were  not  killed  by  the  whitewash. 

Similar,  though  somewhat  more  satisfactory  results,  were 
obtained  from  the  use  of  the  strong  Bordeaux  mixture.  This 
remained  on  the  trees  for  a  much  longer  time  than  the  white- 
wash. But  the  cost  of  this  mixture  together  with  the  results 
obtained  do  not  warrant  its  use  as  a  spray  to  kill  the  San  Jose 
scale-insect. 

The  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture  made  by  boiling  gave 
fairly  satisfactory  results,  though  more  living  insects  were 
found  than  where  the  oil  was  applied.  The  trees  remained 
white  for  quite  a  long  time,  and  some  of  the  mixture  could  still 
be  seen  on  the  under  sides  of  the  branches  when  the  trees  were 
examined  on  September  14th. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  results  attending  the  application 
of  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture  is  also  true  of  the  sulphide 
of  potash  and  lime,  prepared  without  boiling.  This  was  effec- 
tive in  killing  the  scales  and  did  not  wash  off  badly.  It  is 
too  expensive  for  common  orchard  spraying,  but  is  a  conveni- 
ence when  only  small  quantities  of  the  mixture  are  required. 


14  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    144. 

The  lime  and  sulphur  (no  salt)  remained  on  the  trees  better 
than  any  other  preparation  except  the  strong  Bordeaux  mix- 
ture, but  a  larger  percentage  of  insects  survived  than  was  the 
case  where  salt  was  used. 

The  results  of  the  Westville  experiments  cannot  be  called 
satisfactory.  Owing  to  the  badly  infested  condition  of  the  trees, 
more  scales  survived  the  treatment  than  in  the  other  experi- 
ments. It  is  evident  that  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture, 
which  forms  a  hard  coating  over  the  branches,  does  not  have 
the  penetrating  power  of  the  oils,  and  therefore  is  less  effective 
where  the  trees  are  covered  with  several  layers  of  scale-insects. 

In  such  cases  it  would  seem  best  to  give  two  treatments  with 
the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  where  feasible — one  in  the  fall  soon 
after  the  leaves  drop  and  another  in  spring  just  before  the 
leaves  appear. 

Spraying  at  Southington. 

Most  of  the  trees  sprayed  were  in  a  small  peach  orchard 
containing  200  trees.  Fifty  good-sized  apple  trees  near-by  were 
also  treated.  The  peach  trees  were  all  infested  by  the  scale- 
insect,  though  most  of  them  had  not  been  greatly  injured.  It 
was  possible  to  find  scales  on  nearly  every  tree.  The  orchard 
was  on  level  ground  and  the  trees  were  not  large,  making  it 
an  ideal  place  to  conduct  spraying  experiments. 

A  man  and  pair  of  horses  were  hired  for  carting  the  water 
and  the  spraying  mixture,  and  a  Kinney  "Safe"  steam  engine 
was  hired  from  the  town  to  boil  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mix- 
ture. By  attaching  two  lines  of  hose  to  the  boiler,  the  mixture 
was  boiled  in  two  barrels  at  once,  each  barrel  containing  enough 
materials  to  make  two  barrels  of  mixture  when  diluted  ready 
for  application.  The  capacity  of  the  boiler  was  sufficient  to  do 
twice  the  amount  of  work,  as  the  steam  had  to  be  nearly  shut 
off  in  order  to  prevent  a  too  violent  agitation  of  the  liquid.  The 
engine  with  boiler  is  shown  mounted  on  a  wagon  on  Plate  II,  a. 

The  spraying  pump  and  barrel  were  mounted  upon  a  wagon 
and  two  lines  of  hose  used  at  the  same  time,  as  is  shown  on 
Plate  III,  a.  The  mixtures  used  were :  Whitewash — 20  pounds 
lime,  40  gallons  water ;  lime,  sulphur  and  salt — 20  pounds  lime, 
14  pounds  sulphur,  10  pounds  salt,  40  gallons  water ;  lime  and 
sulphur — 20  pounds  lime,  14  pounds  sulphur,  40  gallons  water ; 


SOUTHINGTON    EXPERIMENTS. 


15 


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1 6  CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT   STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 


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20  galls,  water. 

Lime  and  Sulphur. 
20  lbs.  lime. 
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40  galls,  water. 

Condition  of  trees 
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1 8  CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT   STATION,   BULLETIN    I44, 

and  lime  and  potassium  sulphide — 20  pounds  lime,  20  pounds 
potassium  sulphide,  40  gallons  water.  It  was  planned  to  use 
25  per  cent,  of  crude  oil  on  a  few  trees,  but  the  pump  was  not 
working  properly  on  the  days  the  spraying  was  done,  and  this 
had  to  be  abandoned. 

The  trees  were  sprayed  on  March  26,  27  and  28,  during  fine 
weather,  though  a  shower  stopped  the  work  before  the  apple 
trees  were  finished  late  in  the  afternoon  of  March  28. 

The  results  are  tabulated  on  pp.  15,  16  and  17. 

Results' at  Southington. 

The  results  obtained  from  the  whitewash  are  disappointing. 
It  did  not  remain  long  upon  the  trees  and  was  not  effective  in 
destroying  the  scales.  The  trees  were  sprayed  with  kerosene 
emulsion  in  August  (see  page  22). 

The  lime,  sulphur  and  salt,  the  lime  and  sulphur,  and  the 
lime  and  potassium  sulphide  mixtures  were  destructive  to  the 
scale  and  remained  upon  the  trees  for  a  long  time.  In  fact,  it 
was  quite  noticeable  on  the  under  sides  of  the  branches  when 
the  orchard  was  visited  on  September  9th,  and  living  scale- 
insects  were  very  scarce  on  the  trees  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
badly  infested  trees  were  not  far  distant. 

New  Haven  Experiments. 

It  has  been  stated  on  page  3  that  the  fruit  trees  on  the 
Station  grounds  were  found  to  be  infested.  The  discovery  was 
made  late  in  the  season,  but  not  too  late  to  spray  the  trees  before 
the  leaves  appeared.  None  of  the  fruit  trees  were  badly  infested 
though  nearly  all  were  infested  to  a  slight  degree. 

Most  of  these  trees  (27)  were  sprayed  with  the  lime,  sulphur 
and  salt  mixture,  6  with  whitewash  and  2  with  the  Oregon 
wash  (lime,  sulphur  and  copper  sulphate  mixture).  The  lime, 
sulphur  and  salt  mixture, was  boiled  in  barrels  with  steam  from 
the  heating  system. 

The  following  table  gives  the  chief  data: — 


NEW    HAVEN    EXPERIMENTS. 


19 


X 


|x 

|i 

No  injury, 
(t 

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Lime,  Sulphur,    Salt. 

20  lbs.  lime. 
14  lbs    sulphur. 
10  lbs.  salt. 
40  galls,  water. 

Lime,     Sulphur    and 
Copper  Sulphate. 
20  lbs.  lime. 
14  lbs.  sulphur. 
10  lbs.  cop.  sul. 
40  galls,  water. 

20  lbs.  lime. 
40  galls,  water. 

6^ 

Slightly  infested. 

Badly  infested. 
Slightly  infested. 

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> 
< 

20        •CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

Results  at  New  Haven. 

Trees  sprayed  with  the  whitewash  were  so  slightly  infested 
that  it  was  difficult  to  find  specimens  upon  the  twigs.  They 
appeared  very  white  when  first  sprayed,  but  the  coating  soon 
washed  off  and  disappeared  long  before  the  lime,  sulphur  and 
salt. 

The  mixture  containing  copper  sulphate  in  place  of  salt  (Ore- 
gon w^ash),  was  dark-green  or  nearly  black  in  color  and  could 
scarcely  be  seen  on  the  bark.  This  also  washed  off  early, 
though  in  one  case  it  was  fairly  effective  in  destroying  the  scales. 

The  lime,  sulphur  and  salt,  however,  was  the  most  satisfactory 
of  the  three  mixtures  used  at  the  Station. 

Table  X. — Percentage  Efficiency  of  Insecticides. 


Percentage  Efficiency  of  Insec- 
ticides at 

Average 

Materials. 

Yales- 
ville. 

West- 
ville. 

South- 
ington. 

New 
Haven. 

locali- 
■  ties. 

Lime,  Sulphur  and  Salt,  Formula  No.  i 
"                 "                  "             No.  2 
Lime  and  Sulphur                           

91 
92 

98 

93 

88 

91 

85 

72 

100 

95 
96 

97 
70 

96 
70 

94.5 

94 

94 

85 
71 

Lime,  Sulphur  and  Copper  Sulphate 

Lime  and  Sulphide  of   Potash .   .. 

Strong  Bordeaux  Mixture 

Whitewash       ..    _- 

Twenty-iive  per  cent.  Crude  Oil  in  water 

Other  Experiences. 

Several  small  trees  including  peach,  cherry,  pear,  Japan  plum, 
and  hawthorn  in  a  New  Haven  city  garden  were  sprayed  with 
the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture  on  January  19th. 

The  mixture  was  boiled  in  a 'kettle  on  the  kitchen  range  and 
applied  thoroughly.  Though  the  mixture  seemed  to  become 
well  dried  upon  the  trees,  a  heavy  rain  fell  on  the  21st  and 
it  washed  off  badly.  Two  months  after  applying,  no  traces  of 
the  spray  could  be  seen  on  the  trees,  and  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  the  scales  were  not  killed,  as  the  trees  were  very  badly 
infested  during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer. 

In  another  yard  six  small  trees,  including  quince,  pear,  apple 
and  peach,  were  sprayed  on  March  i8th,  with  the  lime,  sulphur 
and  salt  mixture. 


OTHER   EXPERIENCES.  21 

Though  some  of  the  trees  were  quite  badly  infested,  the  treat- 
ment seems  to  have  been  successful,  as  very  few  living  scales 
could  be  found  when  the  trees  were  examined  on  Septem- 
ber 15th. 

Considerable  spraying  with  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mix- 
ture was  done  in  the  large  orchards  of  the  State.  George  F. 
Piatt  &  Son  of  Milford  sprayed  8,000  peach  trees  last  spring 
just  before  the  buds  started,  at  a  cost  of  two  cents  per  tree. 
While  the  results  were  generally  satisfactory,  on  account  of 
unfavorable  weather  and  high  winds  at  spraying  time,  many 
scales  survived  and  multiplied  rapidly  during  the  season.  The 
owners  intend  to  spray  the  orchard  again  as  soon  as  the  leaves 
fall  this  autumn. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Hale  of  South  Glastonbury  sprayed  about  11,000 
trees  with  the  mixture,  with  satisfactory  results. 

N.  D.  Piatt  &  Son  of  Milford  sprayed  about  800  six-years-old 
peach  trees  at  a  cost  of  about  six  cents  per  tree.  The  results 
were  successful. 

Mr.  N.  H.  Sherwood  of  Southport  sprayed  his  entire  orchard 
of  2,200  peach  trees  with  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  with  satisfactory 
results. 

One  grower  of  West  Hartford  sprayed  a  few  trees,  using 
150  gallons  of  the  mixture.  The  work  was  satisfactory,  as 
nearly  all  of  the  scales  were  killed.  The  treatment  will  be 
repeated  next  season.  Another  West  Hartford  peach  grower 
reported  that  1,000  of  his  trees  were  sprayed  with  the  mixture 
during  early  spring  with  successful  results  in  killing  the  scale. 
1,000  trees  were  sprayed  in  Cromwell,  and  many  other  growers 
have  each  used  the  mixture  on  a  smaller  number  of  trees. 

In  the  orchard  of  the  Highland  Fruit  Co.  at  Wallingford, 
1,200  five-year-old  peach  trees  were  sprayed  with  25  per  cent, 
crude  oil  in  the  spring  of  1903.  The  work  was  done  thoroughly, 
the  results  were  satisfactory,  and  the  cost  was  three  cents  per 
tree  on  the  average. 

Mr.  Linus  H.  Hall  of  Wallingford  reports  that  1,200  large 
trees  in  his  orchard  have  been  sprayed  for  two  seasons  with 
25  per  cent,  crude  oil.  The  average  cost  was  three  and  one- 
half  cents  per  tree  for  each  treatment,  and  the  results  were  fairly 
satisfactory. 


2  2  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

Mr.  Z.  P.  Beach  of  Wallingford  has  done  more  or  less  spray- 
ing with  25  per  cent,  crude  oil  each  year  for  three  years  in  his 
orchard  of  4,500  peach  trees,  all  of  the  trees  being  sprayed  in 
1902.  The  scale  has  been  held  in  check  and  only  a  few  trees 
injured  by  the  oil. 

Summer  Spraying  with  Kerosene  Emulsion. 

After  it  was  found  that  the  whitewash  applied  to  the  peach 
trees  at  Southington  had  proved  unsuccessful  in  destroying 
the  scale-insects,  kerosene  emulsion  was  applied  on  August  loth, 
to  kill  the  young  and  prevent  to  some  extent  the  very  rapid 
multiplication  of  the  scales  for  the  season. 

As  the  pumps  for  making  a  mechanical  emulsion  were  not 
in  working  condition,  it  was  necessary  to  prepare  a  soap  emul- 
sion.    Two  formulas  were  employed : 

No.  I.     Y2,  lb.  common  soap \ 

2  gallons  kerosene -6.6  per  cent,  kerosene. 

28  gallons  water    ' 

No.  2.     3^  lb.  common  soap \ 

6  gallons  kerosene Vis  per  cent,  kerosene. 

34  gallons  water ) 


In  each  case  the  soap  was  dissolved  in  hot  water,  the  oil 
added,  and  the  whole  churned  violently  for  a  short  time  until  a 
white  creamy  mass  formed,  which  was  then  diluted  and  applied. 

Fourteen  trees  were  sprayed  with  emulsion  made  from 
formula  No.  i,  and  eighty-six  trees  with  formula  No.  2.  No 
injury  was  done  to  the  trees  except  possibly  the  dropping  of  a 
few  leaves,  but  this  was  scarcely  perceptible. 

The  results  of  this  summer  treatment  were  unsatisfactory. 
Though  a  large  number  of  insects  were  killed,  many  came 
through  alive  and  when  the  trees  were  examined  on  September 
9th  the  young  were  numerous  on  these  trees.  Formula  No.  i 
killed  about  half  the  scales  and  formula  No.  2  killed  from  two- 
thirds  to  four-fifths  of  them.  But  enough  escaped  to  keep  the 
trees  badly  infested. 

Making  the  Lime,  Sulphur  and  Salt  Mixture. 

The  materials  needed  for  making  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt 
mixture  are:  good  fresh  stone  lime  (the  best  grade  finishing 
lime),  sulphur  flour,  or  the  sublimed  flowers  of  sulphur,  and  a 


MAKING  THE  LIME,  SULPHUR  AND  SALT  MIXTURE.  23 

cheap  grade  of  salt.  The  agricultural  or  hay  salt  is  commonly 
used. 

While  the  operation  is  quite  simple,  much  care  should  be 
used  in  making  the  mixture.  We  found  that  small  quantities, 
sufficient  to  spray  one  or  two  hundred  trees,  could  be  boiled 
nicely  over  a  fire  in  a  set  kettle,  such  as  is  used  to  heat  water 
and  cook  feed  for  stock  on  many  of  the  farms. 

For  making  large  quantities,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  boil 
it  by  steam  from  a  boiler.  Where  a  boiler  is  handy,  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  procure  the  necessary  barrels  for  holding  the 
mixture  and  the  hose  to  carry  the  steam  from  the  boiler  to 
the  barrels.  Often  one  can  hire  a  small  portable  boiler  for  the 
occasion.  Where  spraying  is  done  on  an  extensive  scale,  plants 
have  been  established  for  cooking  the  mixture  in  large  quantities. 

In  whichever  way  the  mixture  is  made,  the  process  is  similar 
and  the  same  care  should  be  taken  in  preparing  it. 

The  formula  used  chiefly  in  our  experimental  work  was  20 
pounds  lime,  14  pounds  sulphur  and  10  pounds  salt  to  40  gallons 
water.  This  is  simply  two-thirds  the  amount  of  the  30-20-15-60 
formula,  and  is  more  convenient,  as  it  just  fills  a  barrel. 

The  lime  should  be  thoroughly  slaked.  Much  of  the  trouble 
in  straining  and  also  the  clogging  of  the  pumps  is  caused  by 
the  improper  slaking  of  the  lime. 

The  sulphur  and  salt  are  then  added  and  the  whole  boiled 
for  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  mixture  should  be 
kept  well  stirred  all  the  while  it  is  boiling;  while  the  sublimed 
flowers  of  sulphur  is  more  soluble  than  the  sulphur  flour,  it  is 
liable  to  form  in  lumps,  which  must  be  crushed  against  the  sides 
of  the  kettle  or  barrel,  and  consequently  it  will  be  necessary  to 
boil  it  as  long  as  it  will  the  sulphur  flour. 

After  boiling,  add  water  to  make  the  right  proportion. 

The  mixture  should  be  strained  through  a  strainer  having 
about  twenty  meshes  to  the  inch. 

If  the  mixture  has  been  thoroughly  prepared,  very  little  sedi- 
ment will  remain,  and  there  will  be  no  trouble  from  clogging 
the  nozzles. 

The  pumps  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  every  night  after 
spraying.  It  has  been  recommended  to  run  a  little  vinegar 
or  som-e  weak  acid  through  the  pump  to  neutralize  the  effects 
of  the  alkaline  solution. 


24         CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

All  receptacles  should  be  iron  or  wood,  the  strainer  iron  or 
brass,  and  under  no  consideration  should  copper  be  used. 

On  May  12th,  a  piece  of  copper  wire  weighing  4^  grams 
was  boiled  for  one  hour  in  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture. 
During  this  time  the  weight  had  been  reduced  to  3^  grams  by 
the  corrosive  action  of  the  mixture.  In  standing  three  hours 
after  boiling  the  weight  was  further  decreased  two-fifths  of  a 
gram. 

At  the  same  time  brass  wire  weighing  6^^  grams  was  boiled 
for  one  hour  in  the  same  kind  of  mixture  with  no  decrease  in 
weight. 

The  metals  were  allowed  to  stand  in  the  mixture  and  were 
examined  about  September  ist.  The  brass  was  slightly  cor- 
roded, but  no  trace  of  the  metallic  copper  could  be  seen. 

Laboratory  tests  were  made  with  the  different  grades  of  sul- 
phur, light  sulphur  flour,  heavy  sulphur  flour,  and  flowers  of 
sulphur.  The  two  grades  of  flour  are  simply  ground  brimstone, 
the  "light"  being  more  finely  ground  than  the  "heavy." 
Flowers  of  sulphur  is  a  sublimated  product  and  the  particles  are 
smaller  and  of  different  shape  than  in  sulphur  flour,  and  can 
be  readily  distinguished  under  the  microscope. 

13s  grams  lime,  90  grams  sulphur,  and  68  grams  salt  were 
the  quantities  used  in  the  test. 

A  contained  light  sulphur  flour. 
B  contained  heavy  sulphur  flour. 
C  contained  flowers  of  sulphur. 

The  lime  was  slaked  in  each  case  and  one-half  pint  of  hot 
water  added.  C  was  the  first  to  show  discoloration  due  to 
chemical  action.  Each  boiled  at  102°  C.  After  boiling  for  half 
an  hour  a  half-pint  of  hot  water  was  added  to  each.  After 
boiling  one  hour,  a  preliminary  test  for  sulphur  was  made.  A, 
contained  considerable,  B,  a  very  small  quantity,  and  C,  no 
undissolved  sulphur. 

The  flowers  of  sulphur  costs  a  little  more  than  the  sulphur 
flour,  but  is  not  so  heavy. 

Flowers  of  sulphur  weighs  175  pounds  per  barrel. 
Sulphur  flour  (light)     "        225        "         "         " 
"     (heavy)    "        275        "         " 


WEATHER    NOTES.  2$ 

The  sulphur  can  be  made  into  a  paste  before  adding,  may 
be  slaked  with  the  lime,  or  may  be  sifted  upon  the  top  of  the 
liquid  to  avoid  lumps. 

Finishing  lime  is  preferable  as  it  is  nearly  pure  lime,  slakes 
completely,  and  contains  less  dirt  than  other  grades.  The  lime 
used  in  the  Southington  experiments  contained  only  54.24  per 
cent,  of  lime  and  36.04  per  cent,  of  magnesia. 

Effect  of  the  Mixture  on  the  Skin. 

The  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  mixture  is  very  irritating  to  the 
skin  and  causes  smarting,  and  finally  soreness  if  the  spray  is 
allowed  continually  to  come  in  contact  with  the  hands  and  face. 
Gloves  should  therefore  be  worn  to  protect  the  hands.  For  this 
purpose  rubber  or  oil-skin  is  preferable.  The  mixture  quickly 
ruins  leather.  Cheap  masks  may  be  used  to  protect  the  face, 
though  this  is  hardly  necessary  if  the  operator  keeps  on  the 
windward  side  of  the  tree  when  spraying. 

Rubbing  the  face  and  hands  with  petrolatum  before  com- 
mencing work  is  also  advisable. 

Weather  Notes. 

One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  to  using  the  lime,  sulphur 
and  salt  mixture  in  the  east  is  the  rainy  weather,  early  in 
spring  common  to  this  section.  If  the  application  is  followed 
by  a  week  or  more  of  clear  weather,  the  mixture  is  doubtless 
more  effective  than  if  rains  occur  soon  after  it  is  applied. 

The  mixture  should  at  least  have  time  to  thoroughly  dry  upon 
the  trees  before  it  rains. 

Notes  were  kept  regarding  the  weather  following  our  spray- 
ing experiments  in  March  and  April. 

At  Southington  trees  were  sprayed  on  the  27th  and  28th  of 
March.  About  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  28th  a 
brisk  shower  stopped  the  work.  The  29th  was  clear.  It  rained 
the  afternoon  of  the  30th  and  hard  all  night,  followed  by  showers 
the  31st. 

The  first  of  April  being  a  pleasant  day,  we  sprayed  at  West- 
ville.  The  2d  was  clear  and  windy.  It  rained  nearly  all  day 
the  3d,  the  4th  rain  and  snow.  The  5th  and  6th  pleasant 
weather  prevailed.  The  7th  and  8th  were  rainy,  and  in  the 
evening  of  the  9th  there  was  a  heavy  shower.  From  the  loth 
to  the   14th  was  pleasant.     The   15th  and   i6th  were  stormy. 


26  CONNECTICUT  EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    I44. 

From  April  17th  to  the  28th  of  May  no  rain  fell,  excepting 
May  4th,  when  we  had  a  light  shower  that  scarcely  laid  the  dust. 
For  about  three  weeks  following  the  spraying  there  was  con- 
siderable rain,  which  washed  much  of  the  mixture  from  the 
trees,  and  doubtless  affected  somewhat  the  results  of  the  experi- 
.ments. 

SUMMARY. 

1.  During  the  Spring  of  1903,  spraying  experiments  •were  conducted 
in  Yalesville,  Westville,  Southington  and  New  Haven,  over  11,500 
trees  being  treated.     The  trees  were  chiefly  peach,  pear  and  apple. 

2.  The  chief  mixtures  used  were  :  lime,  sulphur  and  salt  ;  lime  and 
sulphur ;  lime,  sulphur  and  copper  sulphate ;  lime  and  potassium  sul- 
phide ;  whitewash  ;  strong  Bordeaux  mixture  ;  twenty-five  per  cent, 
crude  oil  in  water,  upon  dormant  trees,  and  kerosene  soap  emulsion 
upon  trees  in  foliage. 

3.  Most  of  the  trees  were  sprayed  w^ith  the  lime,  sulphur  and  salt 
mixture  (California  wash):  this  and  the  lime  and  sulphur  mixture,  and 
the  lime  and  potassium  sulphide  proved  about  equally  effective  in 
destroying  the  scales  and  in  sticking  to  the  trees.  Whitewash  and 
strong  Bordeaux  mixture  as  used  in  these  experiments  were  unsatisfac- 
tory scale-destroyers.  The  former  soon  disappeared  from  the  trees 
while  the  latter  remained  about  as  long  as  the  lime  and  sulphur  mix- 
tures. The  Oregon  w^ash  (lime,  sulphur  and  copper  sulphate)  soon  disap- 
peared from  the  trees,  though  in  one  case  it  was  quite  destructive  to  the 
scale-insects.  Twenty-five  per  cent,  crude  oil  in  water  must  be 
regarded  as  an  excellent  scale-destroyer.  Though  no  injury  resulted 
to  the  trees  in  these  experiments,  many  trees  have  been  damaged  here 
and  in  other  states,  and  it  is  hardly  a  safe  treatment  for  the  average 
orchardist  to  use  ;  but  the  oil  mixtures  have  greater  penetrating  power 
than  any  of  the  lime  and  sulphur  mixtures,  and  therefore  may  be 
expected  to  destroy  a  larger  proportion  of  scale-insects  on  badly 
infested  trees. 

4.  Several  Connecticut  orchardists  have  sprayed  their  orchards  (con- 
taining nearly  40,000  trees)  with  the  lime  and  sulphur  mixtures  vyith 
generally  satisfactory  results.  Several  thousand  trees  have  also  been 
sprayed  with  oil,  with  good  results,  though  trees  were  injured  in  some 
cases. 

5.  The  lime  and  sulphur  mixtures  remained  upon  the  trees  longest 
when  applied  just  before  the  leaves  appeared,  being  protected  by  them. 
In  some  cases  it  washed  off  and  w^as  not  effective  when  applied  in  the 
winter. 

In  orchards  vvhere  two  applications  were  made  (one  in  late  fall  and 
the  other  in  early  spring)  it  was  difficult  to  find  any  living  insects  in 
June. 

6.  Kerosene  emulsion  as  a  summer  spray  was  not  particularly  suc- 
cessful in  our  experiments. 


-;     P 


PLATE    I. 


a.   Trees  cut  back  ready  for  spraying.     Orchard  of  Barnes  Brothers,  Yalesville. 


b.   View  of  orchard  at  Southington.     Sprayed  trees  at  the  right. 
ORCHARD   TREATMENT   AGAINST    SAN    JOSE    SCALE-INSECT. 


PLATE    II. 


.^^^^|Vv:jpi^ 


a.   Cooking  the  lime,  sulpliur  and  salt  mixture  at  Southington.     A  Kinne)'   "Safe 
engine  furnishes  steam  to  boil  the  mixture  in  barrels. 


b.   View  in  Barnes  Brothers'  orchards  showing  elevated  storage  barrels  and  spraying 
barrel  and  pump  mounted  on  stone  drag. 

APPARATUS    FOR    MAKING    AND    HANDLING    THE    SPRAYING    MIXTURE. 


PLATE    III. 


a.   Oiitlit  used  in  Soulhington  Experiments. 


Iv&^         Ife- 


ir^^jhiwij*?^ 


^-«r-^»^^;- 


b.   Outfit  employed  b}-  Barnes  Brothers  at  Yalesville. 
SPRAYING    WITH    LIME,    SULPHUR    AND    SALT. 


\^:*  V 


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